George Osborne in House of Commons delivering his Autumn Statement(Parliament TV)

George Osborne has been accused of putting the government's flagship Universal Credit welfare scheme in "very real danger" by announcing a freeze on work allowances.

The chancellor said during his Autumn Statement the government plans "substantial" saving from public spending by freezing Universal Credit work allowances for another year, cutting tax credits when over payments are certain and stopping unemployment benefits for migrants with "no prospect of work".

Announcing the decision during his delivery speech of the Autumn Statement, Osborne said: "Today we undertake further steps to control benefit spending by freezing Universal Credit work allowances for a further year, cutting tax credits when overpayments are certain, and ending unemployment benefits for migrants with no prospect of work.

"And as I've made clear I believe we need to freeze working age benefits for two years – saving billions more."

The Department of Work and Pension's (DWP) flagship scheme, which is designed to make welfare simpler by combining six benefits, including Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit, into one single payment, has struggled to be implemented ever since it was announced by Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith last April.

She said: "By cutting Universal Credit once again, the chancellor is in very real danger of torpedoing Iain Duncan Smith's flagship policy. Freezing the work allowance will harm work incentives and hit low paid families hard. Two thirds of poor children live in working families; we should be redistributing help towards them, not away from them."

She added: "It's striking that the only giveaway for children was for families who can afford to fly them abroad on holiday. For millions more children, today's Autumn Statement is about staying on course for poverty rather than prosperity."

Dr Eva Neitzert, deputy CEO of the Fawcett Society, said she is "particularly concerned" by the announcement as well as the freeze on working-age benefits for two years.

She added: "On average benefits make up twice as much of women's income than men's, largely due to their caring responsibilities and relative poverty, and as such women will feel this measure disproportionately.

"Previous across-the-board raids on working age benefits have hit women twice as hard as men with 66% of savings coming from women's pockets.

"We know those on the lowest incomes are feeling the cost of living crisis sharply, with the number of people accessing emergency rations at foodbanks rising from 128,000 in 2011-12 to 913,000 in 2013-14."